Tag: Arsenal FC

Four-time Champions League winner Clarence Seedorf has explained what he thinks Arsenal need to achieve their own success in the competition this season.

Clarence Seedorf know plenty about winning Champions League trophies, having done so as a player once with Ajax, once with Real Madrid, and twice with AC Milan.

With Arsenal still chasing their first title in the competition, Seedorf was asked by Prime Video what he thinks they need to do to achieve success in Europe.

“I’ve been following Arsenal all these years, it’s a beautiful club, it’s a team that has generally produced attractive football,” Seedorf said. “But we also know that the criticism has generally been ‘you need to win more prizes’.”

“I think it’s a belief factor, I think the belief that you actually can win the Champions League, the belief that you can make it all the way. The belief will wipe away the ghosts, will wipe away the fear of losing, which sometimes can come up in the head.

“It has to be the belief strongly, from the players, from the fans, from the coach, from the club. Everybody needs to believe, because the desire for sure is there.”

It could be argued that we’ve seen the impact of belief on Arsenal’s chances in European competition over the last few seasons.

The Gunners had a team good enough to go the distance in the Europa League in 2022/23, but ended up crashing out in the round-of-16 after a nervous performance against Sporting CP. The team then reached the Champions League quarter-final in 2023/24, and the semi-final in 2024/25.

Each time, it seems the experience of having been at that stage before helped the side to go one further, but then they didn’t show quite that same confidence in the following round.

There’s no comparison between the way Arsenal played in the 2024 quarter-final against Bayern Munich versus the 2025 quarter-final against Real Madrid. Yet the semi-final against PSG was much more like the former than the latter.

With any luck, Arsenal can take two steps forward in this year’s competition, but there’s a long way to go yet.

Arsenal expert Charles Watts has revealed to Sports Mole the Gunners’ new “biggest” injury concern after Mikel Arteta suffered four fresh blows against Crystal Palace at the weekend.

Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to four points with a 1-0 London derby win over the Eagles, but the victory came at a major cost, as four first-team regulars ended up worse for wear.

William Saliba was withdrawn at half time for Cristhian Mosquera, before Declan Rice also had to be taken off alongside a physio in the 82nd minute, at the same time Riccardo Calafiori was replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Gabriel Martinelli had taken Bukayo Saka’s spot on the right wing earlier in the second half, but Arteta also revealed at full time that the Brazilian had picked up a problem, and he is currently giving Arsenal the most amount of worry, according to Watts.

“The biggest concern at the moment might be Martinelli,” he said. “It feels like that could be a bit of a muscular issue. I haven’t had it confirmed but I know that was the one they were focussing in on in the immediate aftermath.

“That’s a bit of a worry and would be a real shame if he is sidelined for a bit, because he had such a strong start to the season. It’d be doubly frustrating as he didn’t even start that game – he came on as a substitute at the end and he still managed to do something.

“Declan Rice, I think he picked up a bit of a knock to his ankle in the first half, tried to play through it. Eventually got the better of him, but he didn’t go down the tunnel straight away which is always a fairly good sign.

Arsenal assessing Gabriel Martinelli injury with “trepidation”

“He sat in the tunnel, watched the second half then bounded down looking very happy in the celebrations, so I feel like he should be all right.

“Bukayo Saka was ill so they withdrew him as a precaution, we’ll wait and see on Calafiori and Saliba but Martinelli’s the one that they’re looking at with a bit of trepidation.”

Prior to Arsenal’s four new fitness blows, the Gunners broke down a stubborn Palace defence thanks to a fine strike from former Eagle Eberechi Eze, who scored his first Premier League goal for his new club in North London.

Rice’s free kick was nodded back down into open space in the penalty area, and Eze arrived with a Paolo Di Canio-style volley from 12 yards, leaving old teammate Dean Henderson rooted to the spot.

Arsenal’s winner against the FA Cup winners was heralded as another example of their set-piece prowess, but Watts was hesitant to label Eze’s “fabulous” goal a dead-ball strike.

“I don’t even know if I class it as a set-piece goal,” he added. “I know everyone else has, but it wasn’t even Gabriel – anyone who’s got him in their FPL team will tell you that he didn’t get an assist for that! I know it counts as a set-piece goal, but that was a goal just purely down to individual brilliance.

‘Eberechi Eze goal individual brilliance, not a set-piece’

“It wasn’t down to the work done on the training ground, a routine drawn up with Nicolas Jover – it was just individual brilliance. Because there’s so much focus on the set-pieces, no-one has talked about just how good a goal that was. The technique to get up the way he did, to keep it down, to find the corner through that crowd of players, it was a fabulous goal that I just don’t think has been spoken about enough.

“He didn’t have the best of games up to that point – I thought he’d been pretty awful in the first half an hour. But that’s exactly what he was signed to do – something like that in a game where Arsenal were struggling to break a team down.

“They signed Eze to bring those moments of magic in tight games that can just make the difference, and he did that. A lovely moment for him, although he definitely did do his best not to celebrate it.”

While Arsenal once again struggled to generate many opportunities from open play against Palace, Arteta’s unwavering defence came to the fore again, as the Gunners kept their fifth consecutive clean sheet across all competitions.

The Premier League leaders have gone through the entirety of October without shipping a single goal, and they have still conceded just three in the Premier League all season, putting them on course to equal Chelsea’s all-time low of 15 from 2004-05.

In addition, Arteta’s side have now gone 100 games without conceding three goals or more in a match, becoming only the second English team to achieve that feat after Manchester United, who let in two goals or fewer in 107 successive matches from October 2016 to August 2018.

Is Arsenal’s defence the Premier League’s best ever?

Asked if the current Arsenal back five could be considered the best the Premier League has ever seen, Watts reflected on the Gunners’ 2-2 draw with Watford in 2019 – where they gave up an astounding 31 shots – and affirmed that the current Gunners side does have shades of Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea.

“There’s definitely an argument for that,” Watts replied. “They have to win a trophy to really challenge that Chelsea team, which was absolutely incredible, but this team does remind me of that side.

“The way Arsenal feel like a bit of a machine is a bit of a throwback to that 2005 team. I remember it so well -when Chelsea rocked up and played Arsenal that season, I just looked at them and thought ‘this is a proper team’. They’re so hard to beat, got such a solid defence and players that can make the difference at the other end, and Arsenal do remind me of that.

“A game that still gives me absolute nightmares and sends shivers down my spine: Watford vs. Arsenal in 2019. Arsenal were 2-0 up, drew 2-2 and conceded 31 shots in that game, 22 of those or 23 of those were in the second half! The first four games of that season, Arsenal conceded 92 shots. I bet you they’ll struggle to concede 92 shots in the whole season this season, and that was only six years ago!

“It’s remarkable how things have changed and how this team that was always considered to have that soft underbelly and be pushovers, they’ve got now it’s just this watertight defence who are so determined not to concede a goal.

“It must be horrible to play against but as an Arsenal fan it’s absolutely brilliant to watch.”

Arsenal’s defence will be put to the test against Brighton and Hove Albion in Wednesday’s EFL Cup fourth-round clash, where the evergreen Danny Welbeck will endeavour to haunt his old employers at the Emirates.

There’s no doubt Arsenal’s defensive solidity has been key to their ability to grind out results and sustain top-level performances.

Having conceded just three goals in nine games and kept six clean sheets, Arsenal have become a nightmare to play against.

Following their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Emirates, Chris Richards was quick to highlight the Gunners’ defensive strength. He wasn’t alone. Arsenal’s defensive dominance was also a major talking point on BBC Match of the Day.

BBC pundits impressed by Arsenal’s defensive record

The stats discussed on the programme made it clear: Arsenal have kept the most clean sheets (6), conceded the fewest goals (3), faced the fewest shots, allowed the fewest shots on target, and boast the best xG in the league.

Former Tottenham and Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy was among the pundits on the show, and he couldn’t help but admit how impressed he was by Arsenal’s brilliance.

“These stats are phenomenal, really,” Murphy said. “You work on it in training, but you need a group of players who are fully on board.”

Injuries haven’t slowed Arsenal down
And that’s not all. Murphy went on to admit that rival teams should be worried because Arsenal are performing this well despite being hit by injuries.

“The other thing for Arsenal is the players they’ve got to come back,” he added. “They’ve got players who’ll return and bring more competition for places.

“And when you get more competition, you get a higher level of performance. It’s a tad worrying, to be honest!”

Arsenal really are in a strong position. They’re in a good moment, and now they need to capitalise on it and sustain their form.

With the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke still to return, they will only get stronger.

Time for Arsenal’s attack to find rhythm
But if Arsenal are to reach the next level, the solution is simple: they need to start scoring more from open play.

If Viktor Gyökeres can find his rhythm and start firing on all cylinders – like the brace he scored against Atletico Madrid last week – Arsenal could hit their absolute peak – and if they do, there should be nothing stopping them from finally claiming league glory.

Declan Rice has shown he has the mentality to stay positive following an injury, after he limped off against Crystal Palace. The Arsenal star hobbled off late on in Sunday’s 1-0 win over the Eagles due to a right leg injury.

Having already racked up 116 appearances for the Gunners since his £105million transfer from West Ham in 2023, Rice has a terrific injury record with his biggest spell on the sidelines coming during his time in east London.

It was in April 2021 when the England star missed six league games after suffering a lateral knee ligament injury whilst on international duty. Rice not only played every minute of West Ham’s league campaign prior to the injury, but even returned before the end of the season to start in their last three fixtures of the season.

While Rice’s current injury is not expected to be as severe as the one he endured whilst a Hammer, Mikel Arteta revealed the midfielder’s struggles began in the first half before attempting to play on.

Following the victory, the Gunners boss told Football London: “Well, the first one was Willy [William Saliba] that obviously had to be out after the first half, Declan as well was struggling from the first half with a knock that he took, and who was the other one? Ricky. As well. So yeah, let’s see how that will go.”

He added: “On Willy there are two things related to his substitution and with Declan I don’t really know because it was a knock. But I don’t know if it was the calf or the Achilles or what exactly it was.”

Gunners fans’ can rest easy knowing that while getting injured is not a situation Rice is familiar being in, his full focus will be on supporting his team-mates and working strenuously to make a swift return to the pitch, as per his comments when sitting on the sidelines at West Ham.

Speaking in 2021, Rice said: “I’m of course disappointed to have picked up this injury but I’m in good spirits, have started my rehab already and hope to be back on the pitch with the lads soon. While I’m not able to be out there, I’ll be giving everything I can to work towards that and supporting the team as we look to continue our very positive season.”

He’s already shown support towards the team since picking up the injury as he took to Instagram to post a photo of him celebrating following the final whistle with the caption: “+3 [points]against a tough opponent. Let’s keep building [brick emoji].”

His social media activities didn’t stop there as he later posted a graphic from the official Arsenal Instagram account, which displayed the club’s famous chant: “One-nil, to The Arsenal,” before writing: “Onto the next [loveheart emoji].”

Arsenal’s superb start to the season has seen them create a four-point lead at the top of the Premier League and are currently on a four-match winning run, keeping four clean sheets in the process.

Brighton have suffered another injury blow ahead of their Carabao Cup fourth round tie at Arsenal.

Veteran midfielder James Milner is the latest to be ruled out as the former Liverpool man suffered a small muscle issue during the second half of last Saturday’s 4-2 loss at Manchester United.

Hurzeler confirmed that Milner is also a doubt for the upcoming Premier League match against Leeds United at the Amex Stadium.

The Carabao Cup tie at the Emirates will also arrive too soon for Albion’s injured trio Joel Veltman (calf), Brajan Gruda (knee) and Kaoru Mitoma (ankle). All three have been unavailable since the last international break.

“They are getting closer but I don’t think they have a chance to be in the squad tomorrow,” said Hurzeler.

Midfield concerns for Brighton and Hurzeler
Milner’s injury is another midfield problem for Hurzeler. Jack Hinshelwood remains sidelined with an ankle issue and the form of Carlos Baleba has also been a big concern.

Diego Gomez played in the final stages of the loss at Manchester United as he’s recently been managing a hip and thigh issue.

Brighton have progressed in the competition with ease following 6-0 wins against Oxford United and Barnsley. Premier League leaders Arsenal will be a major step up.

“They are at the moment [title favourites], said Hurzeler. “The table tells the truth they are doing very well. They are doing well with set pieces and that is one of things they are doing well.

“The are very disciplined. Everyone defends the box and everyone attacks the box. It will be a big challenge for us tomorrow.

“Arsenal are one of the first teams who had a set piece coach and they have worked on these topics for many months, a long time. And now you see the results of all this work. It is getting more important so we have to adapt and be ready.”

Arsenal are reportedly interested in signing FC Porto star Samu Aghehowa, as per Caught Offside.

The Gunners have struggled with their centre-forward position in recent times as Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz have continued to remain sidelined due to their injury problems.

The North London club decided to purchase Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP this summer. However, he has had a difficult start in the Premier League, netting only three times in nine appearances thus far.

Havertz returned after recovering from his injury at the beginning of this season, but having sustained a fresh issue, he has been ruled out for an extended period.

Meaning, Mikel Arteta has been left with Gyokeres as the only striker option, and it appears he is looking to add further depth to this department next year.

Caught Offside state that Arsenal have registered their interest in Aghehowa, having been impressed by his recent eye-catching displays, and are set to follow his development before making a potential swoop next year.

The forward has a £87m release clause in his current contract, which will run until 2029. Ideally, Porto don’t want to let him leave and have no intention of accepting anything less than that sum. However, if a club of Arsenal’s stature eventually make a concrete approach, they might opt to sell him for a reduced fee.

Aghehowa to Arsenal

The report say that the Gunners aren’t the only club interested in the Spaniard as Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, and Nottingham Forest are also in this race with Spurs showing the most concrete interest.

Aghehowa is a 6ft 4in tall player and is extremely quick. Moreover, he is strong, good in the air, efficient in finishing off his chances, and also works hard without possession.

In eight appearances across all domestic competitions, the 21-year-old has scored eight goals this term and has helped his side place themselves at the top of the Liga Portugal table.

Aghehowa possesses the necessary physical attributes to flourish in the Premier League, so he might be a shrewd acquisition for Arsenal should they purchase him. However, they should only finalise the deal if the Portuguese giant opt to lower their valuation.

Arsenal picked up a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Gunners have been in brilliant form over the past month, and they made it four league wins on the bounce after beating the Eagles at the Emirates Stadium.

Eberechi Eze scored with a sublime half-volley to break the deadlock in the 39th minute. It was sufficient to send Arsenal four points clear at the top of the table.

Gabriel Magalhaes was likewise exceptional in the heart of the defence. He won four aerial duels and made a vital block to deny Jean-Philippe Mateta towards the end.

The Brazilian, who completed 90 percent of his passes, also made six clearances. He was unlucky not to score after his headed effort from a corner hit the woodwork.

Speaking after the game, former defender-turned-pundit Micah Richards was full of praise for Gabriel, and said he has turned into an absolute machine this season.

He said on the Rest is Football podcast: “Gabriel, what a player he is, and I wasn’t sure about him at the start. I thought he made a few mistakes; it looked a bit clumsy. But now, he’s just turned into an absolute machine. On set pieces, he’s so key, for and against.”

Gabriel was prone to the odd defensive error earlier in his career. He has improved leaps and bounds and has now become one of the best centre-backs in world football.

William Saliba has earned plenty of plaudits since his Gunners debut in 2022, but Gabriel has evolved into a more complete defender with his ability to score and assist goals.

The £65 million-rated star has chipped in with two goals and two assists this campaign. He scored a dramatic winner at Newcastle United and also assisted Leandro Trossard’s winner at Fulham.

Gabriel has been brilliant in the defensive point of view too. Looking at his season stats, he has won almost six duels per league game with six clearances and two recoveries.

He is enjoying the best phase of his career and could guide the Gunners to a long-awaited league title.

Mikel Arteta is facing several injury issues in the coming games as Arsenal look to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.

The Gunners opened up a four-point lead over second-placed Bournemouth with a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace on Sunday, although the ending of the game felt bittersweet for the north Londoners.

That’s because they walked away from the all-London Emirates clash with four injury concerns. Despite Eberechi Eze putting his old club to the sword with his first-ever Arsenal goal, Arteta will be sweating over several key players for their next fixtures.

William Saliba, Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori all had to be substituted in the win over the Eagles with different fitness issues. Meanwhile, Gabriel Martinelli finished the game, but was confirmed to have felt discomfort by his manager.

Arsenal Sweating Over Fitness of 4 Players Ahead of Brighton Clash

Arteta didn’t go into detail on Saliba’s injury, but explained there was enough discomfort that the centre-back ‘had to be out after the first half’. Phsyio Scout, an online injury expert, has predicted that the Frenchman should be back in action very soon, stating: “Nothing obvious in-game mechanism suggesting a major injury. Should be a fast recovery.”

Likewise, Rice – who set-up Arsenal’s only goal of the game – isn’t expected to be out any longer than one week. After suffering a knock in the opening 45 minutes, the Englishman limped off in the closing stages. Physio Scout assessed that a calf issue was troubling Rice: “From the footage, it looked like a calf contusion due to contact from a Palace player. It should settle within a week.”

Calafiori was more comfortable as he departed the pitch, and isn’t expected to be absent for too long. It has been suggested that tiredness was the main reason behind his withdrawal: “Again, no clear mechanism on broadcast, which usually means tightness/fatigue rather than structural damage. Walked off okay.”

The biggest concern for the Gunners with fixtures against Brighton and Burnley still to come this week, is Martinelli. Ironically, the only one of the quartet is the player facing the longest spell on the sidelines. Martinelli was a second-half substitute, but could be out for two weeks or more if he has strained his hamstring:

“For wide players this is often early hamstring/adductor tightness from repeated high-speed efforts rather than a major strain. If tightness, less than a week. Strain would be 2+ weeks. Probably the most concerned out of all these players.”

Arsenal will definitely be without one player for their next Champions League encounter against Slavia Prague and it has nothing to do with an injury.

The Gunners made it three straight wins in the competition’s league phase on Tuesday night with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Atletico Madrid – a match that was seen as a potentially difficult test at the Emirates Stadium.

After a goalless first half, Arsenal blitzed through Atleti with four unanswered goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and then a brace from Viktor Gyokeres.

It leaves the Gunners third in the table, behind only last season’s finalists Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan in the early stages.

Manager Mikel Arteta is already dealing with a number of injury concerns, with captain Martin Odegaard and frontmen Noni Madueke, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz sidelined.

Unlike last year, however, Arsenal are managing, so far, to deal with those injury issues and are well set in both the Premier League and Champions League.

Games come thick and fast, with Crystal Palace at home in the Premier League this weekend before a Carabao Cup fourth round enoucnter with Brighton & Hove Albion next midweek. Then it’s Burnley in the Premier League before a trip to Czechia to face Slavia Prague on matchday four of the Champions League.

Martin Zubimendi will not travel with the squad for that clash in Prague, having picked up a yellow card in the game with Atletico Madrid, meaning he is suspended for the trip.

What are the rules around yellow cards in this year’s competition?

Article 63.02 of the UEFA Champions League rules states: “As from the first match in the league phase, players and team officials are suspended for the next competition match after three cautions, that did not result in a red card, as well as after any subsequent odd-numbered caution (fifth, seventh, ninth, etc).

“In addition, all yellow cards expire on completion of the quarter-finals. They are not carried forward to the semi-finals.”

Zubimendi was booked against both Athletic Club and Olympiacos and received his third caution against Atletico, meaning he will be suspended for the next match. That may not end up being a bad thing, with the Spaniard to miss Slavia Prague, but return in time for arguably Arsenal’s toughest test of the league phase against Bayern Munich on November 26.

Declan Rice was another who had two yellow cards already heading into the clash with Atleti, but did not receive a booking during the 90 minutes and will therefore walk something of a tightrope again if he plays against Slavia Prague in the hope that he does not pick up another and miss the Bayern clash.

Arsenal enjoyed a tight victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon to move even further ahead of their Premier League title rivals.

With Liverpool and Manchester City being beaten, the vibe has shifted more so in the Gunners’ favour as their hopes of finally ending their long wait for the top-flight crown grow.

That being said, they have managed to come through these first nine games with a lead in spite of the injuries suffered by key players. Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Piero Hincapie, Kai Havertz, Ben White and Noni Madueke have all dealt with issues that have kept them from playing.

Then, in their win over Palace, as many as four players suffered problems, while Bukayo Saka was ill all week and had to be taken off 65 minutes in. With that in mind, football.london takes a look at the injured quartet and discusses which player will fill the void when they face Brighton in the League Cup fourth round on Wednesday.

William Saliba

As William Saliba was replaced at half-time on Sunday afternoon, it will likely be the man who came on who starts against Brighton. Cristhian Mosquera has been a surprise package for the Gunners and will replace the Frenchman as comfortably as he did at Anfield earlier in the season.

Gabriel Martinelli

The winger would have been a shoe-in for a start in midweek while Leandro Trossard has kept him out of the Premier League starting eleven. If they wish not to risk the Brazilian winger it would make sense therefore for the Belgian to continue featuring unless they wanted to move Eberechi Eze wise and start Ethan Nwaneri in the central role.

Riccardo Calafiori

Either of Piero Hincapie or Myles Lewis-Skelly are options to replace Riccardo Calafiori who has thankfully had a clean campaign which was not the case last season. After Gabriel Magalhaes rushed to be fit following a problem suffered against Atletico, it might be that Hincapie starts in the centre pairing in his stead with Lewis-Skelly out wide.

Declan Rice

Declan Rice, the set-piece king, will be a real miss if he is absent from the match with Brighton after going down holding his lower right leg. It seems to be either an Achilles or calf issue. Mikel Merino is the obvious replacement, but Viktor Gyokeres will again play in the striker role, with Kai Havertz unable to come in yet.